Connop , family , of Enfield

The Connop family is a large one, but the dominant figure in the collection is the first Newell Connop. His date of birth is unknown; his father, Richard Connop, married the daughter of George Newell (hence Newell's unusual Christian name) evidently a man of some substance, since Newell and his sister Susanna inherited 12 houses in the Mile End Road through their mother (ACC/0801/0951). Newell himself married in 1775, Sarah the daughter and heiress of John Woodham, a wealthy distiller whose business, with which Newell also seems to have connections, was in Shadwell, but who owned substantial lands in the Enfield area.

Newell and Sarah had eight children; none of their three daughters Sarah, Emma and Ann married, and of their sons, John the eldest went into the Church, and married Katherine Stewart the god-daughter and heiress of Stephen Wilson. She inherited from him Bradfield Hall and other property in Berkshire, and in Hatfield, Herts, which in due course descended to their only child Emma Wilson Connop (ACC/0801/1054-1080). Richard and Henry both entered the army and were successful, Richard becoming a general and Henry a lieutenant-colonel; the former as far as we know never married but Henry had three children by his marriage to Mary Lucas.

Newell junior had no children, but Woodham, the last brother, and his wife Emily Burgess had 2 sons and 5 daughters, the eldest son William Woodham becoming the senior member of the next generation. His brother, the third Newell, married Ann Yarde Ball whose marriage settlement and related papers form part of the collection (ACC/0801/1140-0055) and had 10 children, including boys with the names Richard, Henry, Woodham and Newell. This repetition of family names does not always make it very easy to disentangle the generations. As mentioned before, a certain amount of Connop land found its way into their hands through marriage or inheritance; thus Newell's uncle John Connop married Elizabeth Bridges, niece and heir of John Dell; his namesake, Newell's son married Stephen Wilson's heiress, and John's brother Woodham married Emily Burgess whom one must assume to be John Burgess' heir, since the Burgess property is not sold to the Connops. In 1830, before his death Newell transferred a good deal of his property to his children, the deeds forming a group in collection (ACC/0801/1081-1125). His own affairs form the preceding group, much concerned with his property, but also including the affairs of people whose executor he was (ACC/0801/0950-1053). The last group concerns the miscellaneous affairs of his children and grand-children (ACC/0801/1126-1225).